Ladakh

The distance: a great 545 km. The challenge: cycling at over 18,000 feet (!) in gruesome terrain and thin mountain air. The prize: immense triumph and an accomplishment only few people on Earth can boast about. All of that may sound either daunting [...]

We have often spoken of our obsession with the magnificent creature that is the Snow Leopard. Spread out across Central and South Asia, this elusive wild cat is nearly impossible to get a hold of. Spotting one is extremely rare and the conditions one [...]

She signed up for 545 Kms of Manali-Leh Mountian Biking Expedition with trepidation. Soon the expedition became an all consuming desire in her life. She has been diligently following a yearlong training plan with GoMissing that has prepared her well for it. Notwithstanding, she is [...]

Cycling is a transforming experience. If you don't buy our word for it, hear it from Additi Bhardwaj, our guest blogger for this post. About the Author: Additi Bhardwaj is a senior executive with a multi-national company. In her personality a lot of contrasts meet, [...]

Having grown up in North India, the morning of Republic Day always reminds me of the chilly foggy mornings, when all you could see were shadows of people, weighed down by heavy blankets that fell about like capes, heads covered in wooly caps, chins tucked [...]

Was it God or a swig of their favorite drink that made them beat all odds? All great explorers of the world must have had moments of great adversity, extreme hardship, excruciating pain during their explorations. Haven't we have often wondered what/who did they turn [...]

The 545 Km Manali-Leh trail is one of the extreme expeditions GoMissing takes serious cyclists on. The 12 day trail is replete with steep climbs, rapid descents, disorienting switchbacks and plenty of gravelly terrain. The beauty of the trail, of course lies in unmatchable landscape [...]

It was December of 2013 and we were camping on a craggy stone cliff facing the Arabian Sea, somewhere close to Kashid beach in Maharashtra. We were three families with five children, all of who wanted it to be the night full of scary stories [...]

GoMissing Manali-Leh Expedition has reached Leh! We caught up with Saurabh Kapur in Leh and here is what he had to say..... We are standing akimbo today at a hilltop looking into Leh, transfixed by the beauty of the land. Riding our mountain bikes for [...]

We have Ladakh Festival 2015 on your minds. Why, you may ask? Because GoMissing Manali to Leh Mountain Biking Expedition #Project 545 is going to be in Leh just in time for Ladakh Festival, which is scheduled from 20-26 September, 2015. As you read this, our group [...]

Saurabh Kapur, CEO-GoMissing Expeditions is now on Happy Trips - a Times Internet initiative that's a treasure trove of over 15000 articles, guides and photo galleries covering no less than 300 destinations in India and worldwide. In this article, published recently on Happy Trips, Saurabh [...]

Light-eyed, tall and strong jawed people with aristocratic noses, the Aryans have long been a source of much fascination and study for people in India and around the world. 'Aryan', a term for racial grouping was used to describe people of European and Western Asian [...]

Ladakh is vividly described in eloquent terms as land of passes, land of endless beauty and so on. Picture perfect landscapes, surreal skies, stretches of unending loopy roads, smiling people and placid lakes all seem to say, this is where Shangri La is, this is [...]

Monsoon is usually the time that one relates to staying indoors. But monsoons, when the water bodies are at their fullest and the lands at their greenest, provide an opportunity for a bunch of adventure sports which can make the rains much more exciting and [...]

Every year around this time, we get a number of phone calls and emails from people trying to plan their trip to Ladakh. So the good folk that we are, we decided to write a few pointers which can help you plan your Ladakh trip [...]

So here is something that we all have felt at some point in our lives. At some point in our lives we have craved for that adrenalin rush. Pure unadulterated adrenalin flowing through the body giving a feeling of being on top of the world, [...]

Children offering prayers There seems to be something about some simple sights which just leave an impression on you for a lifetime. The picture above is a simple click of two children playing. Somehow this picture just goes right up in my favorite [...]

Our journey of exploration around Leh continued with a visit to the Sindhu ghat, Shay palace and Stok village. The Sindhu ghat (Indus bank) is a peaceful riverbank nestled in the surreal landscape of Ladakh. The barren brown mountains, a peaceful river flowing across stones [...]

The Thikshay monastery rises from the vast brown plains and embraces the open blue skies giving the approaching visitor a feeling of peace and calm. The Thikshay Monastery belongs to the Gelukpa order of Buddhism and was founded in 1430AD by Spon Palden Zangpo, nephew [...]

After a night of blissful sleep we awoke to a crisp October morning in Leh. As the sun started rising over the horizon, the nip in the air gave way to a warm feeling which just made perfect sense. A little while later we got [...]

I would imagine that everyone at some point in time has had a dream like this; Run like there is no tomorrow, wind flowing through your hair and flowing through the rest of you, binding and uniting you with the spirit of freedom and with the [...]

Conventional wisdom would tell most of us to not visit Ladakh around the onset of winters. It gets to cold, places are not accessible, hotels are closed, etc etc etc. But then again, the charm of surreal landscape, snow covered passes, hardly any tourists, and [...]

From our unbelivably stunning "words can't even begin to describe it" cycling trip from Shimla to Khardung-la last year... the pic of the day of Baralacha-La pass Thanks Shrenik and Mike... you guys are simply the best :) It couldn't have been better. Cheers to [...]

What we're here for... we start today. And unlike other days, we're up early, and even managed to leave by 7 AM. Today's ride... 40Kms, 6500ft ascent reaching an altitude of 18380ft. The road... about 26Kms of good road up to south pullu... after that [...]

Crossing the Baralacha-la, situated in the Zanskar range, one of the highest motorable passes in the world. Once again, i'm rendered pretty much speechless. All around at the pass there are prayer flags and wishes. The view, nothing short of astounding. Rock structures made by [...]

What I did not capture was the immigrant laborers toiling away breaking stones for making roads. They come here from as far as Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal to make a living. What I did capture was the rosy picture of life in the mountains [...]

At times, there is a sense of something amazing in the air, you just know it and you just feel it without really knowing what it is. At times, you discover, that the feeling is just snowballs, other times hot tea on a chilly day [...]

At times when you're just overwhelmed, there really isn't much to say. When you feel completely puny, completely insignificant. Everything you think about, all the problems, all that you know, all that you feel... seem to not exist. Just purity, just a sense of exhilaration. [...]

Cycling in the mountains is a whole different experience. What you discover about yourself, and life in general, you just can't beat. I promise you that. A poll conducted by interviewing the members of the team resulted in these top findings. 1. You really discover [...]

24th July Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Drive from Delhi to Shimla So, the plan was to update the blog real time during the cycling trip. Since that didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t happen, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to start the account pretty much from Delhi. Delhi to Shimla Ã¢â‚¬â€œ by car with 3 cycles [...]

I don't think I need to write anything in this post. The topic pretty much says it all. While i'm at it, how about a new set of legs as well. :) The story update will happen soon. Just a quick update for now, we [...]

... can't wait to get there. I have done some crazy stuff before. From cross country drives, to body surfing rapids, to high altitude trekking, to jumping off cliffs. But, this one really does take the cake. In all these trips, I've pretty much questioned [...]

...Okay, that might sound just a little dramatic, but then again, at 18,380ft Khardung-la is one of the highest motorable passes in the world (the highest according to the border roads organisation). Looking forward to the challenge of conquering Khardung-la or K-top as it is [...]